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Eating the rainbow the right way
Red, yellow, pink or green? Which coloured food is best for your health?
bodyandsoul.com.au SEPTEMBER 9, 2016 2:14PM
Photo: iStock
It’s no secret that eating a balanced and healthful diet includes every colour of the rainbow and then some — don’t forget about cauliflower. But decoding which colour offers the most benefits when it comes to the same food is where it can get a bit trickier; is a yellow tomato better nutritionally than a red one? What about black versus green kale? And is there is even a difference between white and brown eggs at all? Below, we shed some (colourful) light on which produce to pick for maximum nutrients.
Benefits of colourful food
“Phytonutrients and phytochemicals are substances which cause plant-based foods to have their colour, and are considered to have benefits to people who consume them. They’re in a unique category, because they are not related to fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, or minerals,” explains Anthony Glanville, an Accredited Practicing Dietitian based in Sydney.
So what are the benefits of consuming these colourful phytonutrients? “They have been shown to reduce inflammation, reduce oxidative stress (anti-oxidant), improve cellular function and communication, and possibly reduce the risk of certain cancers. They also help with repairing damaged DNA,” Glanville continues.
“Phytonutrients affect the pigmentation of the plant they are in, and there are thousands of different phytonutrients! Different colours represent different phytonutrients, and therefore will have different benefits to our bodies. ‘Eating the rainbow’ is a phrase designed to increase the variety of phytonutrients that you are eating to help you get all of the benefits that plant foods have to offer.”
Best colour to eat
Although there are countless varieties, Glanville helps us determine which ones are the most important, and ultimately, beneficial. “Dark leafy greens such as spinach, watercress, and kale have been shown to have very beneficial qualities in reducing inflammation, enhancing immune function and reducing oxidative stress, so I suggest eating 2-3 cups of any of the above per day.”
“However, if you just stick to dark leafy greens, you’ll be missing out on other vital phytonutrients, so including lots of red, yellow, orange, purple, and white plant-based picks is just as important!”
Glanville acknowledges eating a varied range every day isn’t feasible for most people. So if you can’t eat the rainbow everyday, what colours pack the most nutritional punch?
“I recommend aiming to consume at least 2-3 cups of those dark leafy greens every day, then rotating through the other colours on a bi-daily basis. Try having 2-3 different shopping lists of fruits and vegetables that you rotate through to help with variety even further.”
When it comes to what a proper serving of a ‘rainbow plate’ looks like, Glanville concedes that “we should aim to have at least 4-5 cups of vegetables, 1-2 pieces of fruit (note: berries are packed with phytonutrients and have a lower carbohydrate content than other fruit) and at least 1-2 cups of colourful, carbohydrate-rich plant foods such as beans, lentils, chickpeas, squash, sweet potato and pumpkin every day.”
Same veg, different colour
And how do veggies of the same variety in different colour variations measure up? Glanville ensures that the vitamin and mineral content would be similar, in say, both black and green kale, but there is definitely some variation in the phytonutrients in the different colours of the same type of fruit/vegetable — hence why they are different colours.
“Most adults tend to stick to the same small rotation of foods that make up the majority of their meals and snacks, but one of the keys to long-term health and wellbeing is having variety in the types of food you eat. Lack of variety is often the reason why many of my clients struggle to continue to eat healthy, nutrient-dense foods over a long-term period… they get bored.” says Glanville.
Ultimate rainbow meal
“One of my favourite go-to dishes that gets all the colours in one is a zucchini pasta, made with eggplant, cherry tomatoes, sweet potato, yellow capsicum, baby spinach, olives, and mushrooms. I’ll either have it in a basil pesto or a tomato based sauce.”
And to that, we say bon appetite, and cheers to your health.
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